We are facing a war on women and Indigenous women are on the front line. But does the Government even care?
Since the beginning of the year, following a similar confronting tally which was run by feminist organisations in the UK last year, two tallies have been running. The first one, tallied by Destroy the Joint, is entitled “Counting Dead Women 2015” and has been focussing on all women killed in violent attacks.
The second one, run by Real for Women, is entitled “Man Murders Woman 2015” and specifically focusses on the victims of men’s violence against women. Despite their different focusses, at this point in time the difference in the respective tallies is 1. 36 on DtJ and 33 on RfW. We are halfway through the 17th week of this year and based on the current trends, by the end of this week another woman is going to turn up dead and the tallies will tick over once more.
It is completely horrific in this country that we cannot go three and a half days without another woman being murdered. It is a national disgrace that this is not declared a state of emergency, a “war on women” and politicians aren’t doing everything they possibly can to change things. It is astounding that the Prime Minister, who is also the Minister for Women, has instead sought to defund women’s shelters, legal aid, and appears to not actually be remotely interested in women’s issues at all.
It is troubling to me that the media hardly covers this, that the public barely responds, and that where there is a murder/suicide, the numbers for suicide prevention lines are always listed, but not domestic violence support lines. Admittedly, it also concerns me that I can post an article up naming a woman as the 34th victim for the year and it barely gets a response. 36 women, no longer on this earth, and it’s not really considered a issue in huge chunks of society.
Yet as these lists have grown, I have been scanning them; searching for cases involving Aboriginal women. I know other Aboriginal women have been doing the same. And the results have been utterly horrific. As it stands, right now, I can confirm that three women on this list are Aboriginal women, and I believe that there may be a fourth though am yet to confirm this. Of the three women I can confirm, two were killed by men (one an ex-partner and one an unspecified acquaintance) and one was killed by a woman. The links to these three cases are here in reverse chronological order:
25/4 – Brewarrina
7/4 – Kalumburu
12/2 – Broome
In the case of the fourth woman whose case I am yet to confirm, her ex-partner was held in custody and was eventually charged with a breach of a DV order and drug offences. Investigation into her death continues.
29/3 – Alice Springs
Three, maybe four this year. It doesn’t sound like a huge number when stated in this way. Yet the reality is this: of the 36 women who have died as a result of violence this year alone, between 9% and 12% of them have been Aboriginal women.
Aboriginal people make up nearly 3% of the population yet are currently represented in this list between 3-4 times what our population parity rates would be.
What’s more, and call me cynical, I have to wonder if there are more women out there we have not yet heard about or might never hear about. When you hear statistics like Aboriginal women are 38 times more likely to be hospitalised for assault than other women, it’s really hard to not think the numbers might be higher and could still escalate.
Watch Waleed Aly ask the Federal Government to “show me the money” to prevent violence against women. You will be cheering for him (post continues after gallery):
This is horrific and needs to end. Our government cannot be left unaccountable when it comes to their stripping of the funding of the very services which save women’s lives. Mob cannot stay silent on this issue. So many of the good black men and women I know speak up and say it is not acceptable but regardless of this, there are those who, as Marlene Cummins stated in her film when describing a horrific rape she was subjected to or violence experienced by her and other women, say nothing.
There seems to be a number of reasons why violence is tolerated – usually linked to racism – and this cannot be the case. This programme discusses some of them, though some views expressed are not my take on the matters, I do think with numbers like this we need to be talking more openly about these issues.
As someone who has left violence herself, I find it difficult to talk about this topic. The only time I really have is when I have made the argument that this is an issue of the patriarchy and that it is not just an issue in remote communities because our women aren’t free from it in cities either. That and raising awareness on my Facebook page and including some statistics in my articles.
I therefore have admiration for those who do speak about their experiences openly and publicly and maybe I will one day as well. This includes those who I usually have little else in common with. But the numbers on these lists are not going down.
And with them we will see more Aboriginal women featuring in this list before the year is out. Even if the horrific trend of two women per week continues throughout the year, we have already surpassed the population parity rates with the Aboriginal women currently listed.
This is why I am writing.
#stopthecarnage #womenslivesmatter #blacklivesmatter
Did you want to read more about domestic violence prevention and Aboriginal communities? Try these posts:
Explain to me: Why is the government closing remote Aboriginal communities?
Waleed Aly grills Malcolm Turnbull over domestic violence funding.
Yet another woman has lost her life to alleged domestic violence. That makes 23.
This post was originally published here and has been republished with full permission.
Top Comments
I used to live in Alice Springs, which has a high indigenous population. Domestic violence is rife. Women are hospitalised daily with domestic violence related injuries, and imagine the ones that they don't go to hospital for! When I first arrived in Alice Springs there were two murders within weeks of one another. They made the newspaper only in the form of a small article. Australia is kidding itself if it thinks we are not a racist nation. So many people prefer to turn a blind eye
A 'war on women'? Do you realise that men are more than twice as likely to be murdered than women? According to the most recent ABS statistics, 1.8 men per 100,000 are the victims of homicide, compared to 0.8 women per 100,000. Yes, women are more likely to be killed by intimate partners, but men are disproportionately the victims of EVERY OTHER form of homicide. Why is there not a running tally of those?
Not according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
And who are the perpetrators of the violent crime of homicide against men? "Yes, women are more likely to be killed by intimate partners" THAT'S THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION. We are not denying men are victims of crime. Why don't you start the running tally of each and every male killed by their intimate partner? Because DOMESTIC violence is not a discriminatory term. If there is a discrepancy in the way their concerns are being addressed it is at the front line level. The point is domestic violence is not being seen as an important issue when it is killing more people disproportionately. And ABORIGINAL women are 38 TIMES MORE likely to be hospitalised. A statistic which will never be trumped by either male or female yet you still feel the need to bring up erroneous facts which do not address the issue which is being discussed. If you feel so strongly about addressing your perceived injustice about the fact the a women's site will focus on women's issues WHY did you completely ignore this fact. 38 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE HOSPITALISED. Your sense of injustice is as skewed as the statistics you cloak yourself in to make an off-topic point which isn't being denied.
huh?
you just need to read the headline to know this is about domestic violence
NOT our general murder rate